Venezuelans Asking the U.S. To Extradite 2

By JUAN FORERO

Published: January 29, 2004

BOGOTÁ, Colombia, Jan. 28—
Venezuela's government said Wednesday that it was seeking the extradition of two former military officers who fled to Miami after being accused of orchestrating bombings in the Venezuelan capital as part of an attempt to oust President Hugo Chávez.

The government said the two men -- Lt. José Antonio Colina and Lt. Germán Varela, both former officers in the country's National Guard -- intended to cause panic with the bombs in Caracas, and that they are members of a group of military officers who want Mr. Chávez out.

''These are people sought for acts that are obviously terrorist,'' Bernardo Álvarez, the Venezuelan ambassador in Washington, said in a phone interview on Wednesday afternoon.

Citing an extradition treaty between the two countries, Mr. Álvarez said his government had formally requested that the United States detain the two men, the first step in a formal extradition request. The two are seeking political asylum in the United States and are currently in the custody of immigration authorities in Miami.

Without speaking about the case specifically, a State Department official said the United States ''would certainly entertain'' a Venezuelan request.

The extradition request could put Washington in a thorny spot. The Bush administration wants to appear tough on terrorists, but it has also been critical of Mr. Chávez's government, suggesting that it gives tacit support to Colombian guerrillas.

In the latest exchange in the war of words, Cofer Black, the State Department coordinator for counterterrorism, told reporters last Friday that Venezuela was not doing enough in the global campaign against terrorism. On Saturday, Venezuela's vice president, José Vicente Rangel, reacted strongly, saying, ''We share the concern over the fight against terrorism, but we demand reciprocity.''

Mr. Rangel said the Venezuelan government had been ''asking for more cooperation from the United States to bring to justice those who have committed terrorist acts in Venezuela.''

The attorney general's office in Venezuela says Mr. Colina and Mr. Varela carried out bombings last February in Caracas at the Spanish Embassy and at Colombian consulates, injuring several people.

Both were among the dozens of military officers who took over a plaza in Caracas in 2002 and called for Mr. Chávez's ouster.

The two men, after being accused of the bombings late last year, fled to Miami, where they were taken into custody by immigration authorities.